The Keyblader Chosen
by Anaya of Wolves
Summary: [COMPLETE] 'Every good story begins with an adventure. Every good adventure begins with a strong heart.' A slight crossover with RWBY-KH and Ruby-focused as well. This takes place roughly within volume 2 of RWBY and after DDD for Kingdom Hearts.


[Originally posted on my tumblr 'anaya-of-wolves. tumblr. comm/ post/ 98101474637/ fic-rwby-kh-crossover-a-keyblader-chosen' (remove the spaces and extra 'm' in 'comm'.]

Well, this idea had been sitting long enough inside of my brain. So, I figured that I would start writing for it and see where it would go. However, found out that it was fun to write and interesting to experiment on. So, here is what might be (MIGHT BE) the first part of something. It's a complete one-shot on it's own, but it might lead to something else.

* * *

><p>They tell of stories of hearts of pure and light. They tell of stories were the light and good conquers the dark and evil. They tell of stories were happiness is abundant, and pain is nonexistent. They tell of stories of heroes and foes and lessons to be learned. They tell of stories of a hero, in fact. A key and the one chosen to wield a weapon from a strong heart. Maybe not pure, but powerful. A heart that shines because of strength and valor and, above all, love.<p>

They tell of stories of the worlds and of the keyblade.  
>-<p>

She was dreaming, wasn't she?

Dreams were never something Ruby fancied unless they were of more joyful visions or fading darkness in her memory. Dreams allowed her, sometimes, to forget the world and history and to be happy. However, the one that gripped her and pulled her into consciousness was one filled with a certain darkness and monsters with...yellow eyes?

She could see those yellow eyes still on the ceiling and curtain above her. They stared down at her, watching and waiting before she blinked them away finally. The young girl then put her hand over her face, more of an attempt to keep her stuttering breath quieted. However, that allowed more for those eyes to keep reappearing in her mind. Haunting fragments that were on a loop. No explanation to them, just there.

'What do they mean?' she asked herself in her own mind, knowing that the grimm that often haunted her mind were there for a reason. A reason that she kept in her heart. But grimm and these creatures weren't the same. She could figure that much out, but other than that was a mystery to her. Where did she get any inspiration to think of them? Why these creatures in particular?

The young huntresses exhaled and removed her hand. Ruby shut her eyes once more to be taken by sleep in faint hopes of not seeing those eyes again. Anything else, but just not those eyes. Those eyes bore into her heart, instilling a cold chill that the grimm didn't. This chill brought a more sinister feeling in her bones. One that warned of a further reveal awaiting on the horizon.  
>-<p>

"Hey Ruby, Rubbles...you okay?"

Ruby blinked out of her staring match with the opposing cafeteria wall, glancing over to the rest of her team that were all giving her odd looks, even Blake. She blinked slowly a few more times before nodding her head and yawning. The only thing keeping her head up included her hand cupping the side of her face and strong will. That didn't pass off as being 'okay' though.

"Uh, Ruby, have you been getting sleep recently? You seem out of it this morning," Weiss asked, curiously and wondering what would be keeping Ruby up. No tests were soon and/or projects to be worked on. Nothing else appeared to be keeping her up. So that begged the question as to why the other looked like she hadn't slept a wink of sleep.

Ruby put up her best 'I'm fine' smile to the rest of her team at the breakfast table, answering back, "I'm fine, you guys." None of them believe that, and Ruby knew that they didn't believe it. But what could she say to them? That nightmares were haunting her? A team leader didn't get scared by nightmares. A huntress didn't let anything scare her. So, she was 'fine' for all intent's purposes. Even if it that meant clearly and blandly lying to the rest of team RWBY.

"If you say so. Anyway, the mission is today, so leaving before noon will give us enough time to finish and we need to..."

Ruby attempted to pay attention to Weiss, she really did. She was the leader, she should be reminding them of the mission -the mission she had nearly forgot this morning along with just how to get up properly- that they were doing today. But the nightmares -stupid nightmares- were eating at her more and more. Why couldn't she just let them go? Forget about them? She glanced down at her food, poking at it with a fork and not even realizing that Weiss had stopped talking and Yang and Blake were staring at Ruby with looks of concern for the youngest member. Something terrible was eating at her, something they wanted to find out.  
>-<p>

A mission like this would have been a blessing really. Well, the travel part seemed as much since it was a trip by air ship to get there. That allowed for free thought till they were dropped off.

But no, not for Ruby. Her mind wandered away as time passed, since Yang and Weiss seemed to be in a chatting mood, and Blake had retreated to her own thoughts that at least were far more peaceful and ordered than Ruby's. So, the team leader was left to her own mental devices. She couldn't get those yellow eyes out of her mind.

So, instead of getting them out, Ruby decided to think on them. She closed her eyes, thinking hard on those forms that had to have those eyes. She concentrated hard to form a shape out of the massless darkness, just something or anything of a clue. Her face scrunched up in thought, almost feeling as though she was breaking through as she stared at the dark abyss in her mind. That was until a bright flash snapped her eyes opened and pulled a gasp out of her throat. Ruby glanced around, noticing people getting up and leaving the airship that had, presumably, landed.

"Come on, Ruby. We're leaving," Weiss said as she waited for the said girl to get up. Ruby rose up to her feet, keeping her body steady even though it was on the verge of collapse. She knew Weiss was staring at her, watching her for anything amiss. She really wished the other wouldn't. She was fine.

The two then headed out of the airship to the town, Yang and Blake seemingly waiting for them with the former grinning once spotting the two. The four left the station and into town, one much smaller than Vale. A few people were here and there walking down sidewalks, though it mostly looked as though everyone wanted to stay insider rather than out. Team RWBY didn't find this right, voicing so aloud and even getting strange looks given to them.

"Have the grimm really scared this town this much?" Yang asked openly with the other, finding the lack of activity creepy in a sense.

Blake's eyes wandered around, taking in all while still answering back the blonde, "It was reported so, but something doesn't feel quite right." Something set her off; something wasn't right in the air. Her sense were on high alert for anything, be confrontation or otherwise. Grimm in an area was almost natural in a twisted, survivalist way. Grimm were frequently present in woods and outside small cities. That was fact. But something else was here, something that didn't seem to carry the air of grimm attacks. But the faunus wasn't quite sure as to what that was.

"Yeah? I feel so to," Yang continued back, feeling a sensation crawl up her spine like a spider.

Weiss also noticed another thing about the people on the streets and promptly told the other two team members, "It's like terrified of their own shadows." The people did act as such, glancing over their shoulders and keeping to light sources even though it seemed not help as they wanted. Children remained at the heels of mothers, and men still to stare out of the windows of stores as though there was something just beyond the glass panes.

While the other three were conversing back and forth, Ruby slowed down her walking, grey eyes widening as the words spoken by the heiress sunk in, "Shadows..." Just merely repeating that one word caused her mind to begin flashing images of a creeping darkness and yellow eyes.

"Ruby? You say something?"

Yang's voice snapped her sister out of her thoughts, getting a quick response of, "Nah, just thinking."

"A first."

With the remark from Weiss, Ruby stuck out her tongue in retaliation, feeling an ease settle over her after, whatever she had felt. Just the word 'shadows' had triggered something in her mind. Was it connected to her dream? Shadows and creatures of darkness linked together? More questions than answers came to her mind which continued making a mess rather than sense. But something else was sparking up as they continued down the near deserted sidewalk of a nearly deserted town. Shadows, darkness, fear -grimm, maybe- seemed to spark a sense of almost deja vu for her. Ruby felt as though there was something here that she should know. Something was here, something terrible, and Ruby felt in her heart that either she would find out or find out too late.  
>-<p>

The group of four, after finishing a walkthrough of the small town, figured that the best way to start was to start asking questions. Getting a feel of what had been plaguing the town would be a good start.

The first few people they had politely stopped and asked outright refused to answer anything about the attacks. Some acted more scared than angered, and others acted as though they had asked them some deeply personal. That seemed to be the trend as they continued asking people on the streets and in buildings. Even children were too frightened to answer the simplest of questions.

Do you know what's going on?

Why do you think your mommy/daddy is afraid of?

Again, no answer that was satisfying. Of course, they would head out to check the surrounding woods, but going in blind was too foolish even for them to do. But no one was talking to them about whatever really was going on. Assuming just the grimm seemed like only a small piece of a puzzle that was slowly strangling the life out of the town.

Ruby suggested the small park area for a break around little passed noon, and Yang agreed since none of them had a better idea to interject. The seemingly thick air of the town remained like a heavy wool blanket. The small park -which had just a couple trees, benches, and playset- was eerily silent. Ruby felt on edge, though with Weiss's shifting eyes and uncomfortableness meant that she wasn't the only feeling that. None of them felt right about this, at all.

"Alright, so, uh, what is terrorizing this town so badly?" Ruby finally voiced the collective thought. "People won't tell us what is wrong, and people seemed to be-"

"Scattered and scarce?" Weiss added to the end of that, getting a nod from their team leader. "Well, Grimm do seem to scare-"

"It's not the Grimm," came a new voice, turning the heads of the four girls over to a child that looked so young. But young wasn't the only description fitting for the child. A mixed between frightened a harden looked presented itself on her face as well. She looked to be acting tough but still so much a child.

"What do you mean it isn't the grimm?" Blake asked, getting a follow-up with Yang asking, "What else could it be?"

The little girl's eyes flashed quickly with an strong sense 'fear' that Ruby caught before her voice answered back, "Monsters." There was a wobble in that voice that tugged on the team's heartstrings. But it also dragged back the questions that they had been asking before, not answering them.

"What kind of monsters, sweetie?"

Yang's question was answered by a shrug of the girl's shoulders and reply, "I don't know. Mommy doesn't talk about them. No one does. They are just monsters." That should have been expected, but team RWBY had been hoping for more concrete answers to all of this. But they took what they could get. There soon settled a silence after that response, since now what more could they ask of a child who didn't seem to know about what was going on? That pause of silence was only broken by a name being called, and the child looking towards the sound. The child took a step away, muttering a quick 'I have to go now', but was stopped when Ruby finally piped up to ask her own question.

"These monsters, have you seen them? What do they look like?"

The little girl stops, there is a shake in her shoulders, and she then turns back to hesitantly answer the red-head as though there were multitudes of things she rather to do than that, "Like shadows. But," there were a pause in her explanation, another tremor running through her small body, "with big yellow eyes." The little girl was called again, this time the voice of the mother sounding a bit more frantic, and so she ran away from the group towards the voice.

Team RWBY looked amongst themselves, wondering what on earth had big yellow eyes and was like a shadow. Nothing in their memories served as an explanation to that. Nothing was recalled; nothing was answered.

"Yellow eyes? Grimm don't have yellow eyes," Weiss stated, having an air of disbelief in what the child had told them had been true. Could they trust an account from a child?

Blake had a thoughtful look on her face before adding in, "I don't think these creatures here are Grimm." Her response leaned her more towards the fact that if it wasn't grimm that it had to be something else. Maybe more dangerous, maybe not.

"Then what?"

Ruby heard her sister ask that, but thought an almost answer to herself. 'Monsters with yellow eyes.' But then her mind panicked as it continued on that same line, 'They're here?!' Every warning bell in her body screamed at her that this was a bad idea. Unknown monsters that appeared first in her dreams boded horrible for the reality. Ruby knew nothing good would come of this, wanting to tell the others as such. But it seemed that they were ready to find these creatures.

"Let's go find these 'yellow-eyed monsters.'"

The team all agreed to that plan of action from Weiss, knowing that that was their mission here. Regardless, somewhat, of what they had found out, they still had to go see and help these people. They were Huntresses-in-training after all, and they had a duty to keep the world save from whatever threatened the peace of order. But Ruby couldn't help her creative mind from wondering, picturing a creature of darkness with big yellow eyes staring at her from the darkness in her own mind. It was frightening and ever-present.  
>-<p>

Whatever they had been expecting was not this. Ruby wondered if she should have said something sooner. Probably she should've since it would have saved them the trouble of finding out just how tough these shadow creatures with yellow eyes had been.

They had set out just in the outskirts of the small town. No one seemed to dare to come out here this far. A good reason to that appeared soon enough just as the four entered the semi-dark of the forest with canopies blocking out the late sunlight. Eerie silence hung in the air. All four girls glanced around them, weapons out and prepared. Ruby was nervous but steeled herself for an attack.

The attack hadn't been a sudden strike, like some grimm prepared. The attack caught them briefly off guard. No sound announced the shadows' appearances. They all appeared on the around in a circle around the four who stopped and watched these creatures quite literally formed from the ground upwards into a more 3-dimisional form. Then the first of the shadow creatures, twitching in a way that gave Ruby chill bumps, took a step forever before lurching its body at Ruby. The red head swung Crescent Rose at the creature, an attack that would have cut the creature in half.

However, the curved blade phased through the creature that just barely missed the girl who figured dodging was the next best course. The other teammates back away from the creature but heard behind them the other creatures hissing now and edging closer with their twitching moments. Soon Weiss attempted to fight these creatures, finding her glyph and dust attacks just as effective as the cut from Ruby's scythe.

The scary truth about them being that they seemed to be immune to their attacks, not even their semblances did much in effect as well. It was a major concern, since it left them quite powerless on that front. Now the odds were four young teens versus nearly a dozen shadow monsters that could move on the ground and couldn't be hurt by their weapons. This wasn't good at all.

"We need to run for it, we can't fight these things," Ruby spoke up to the others, doing her very best to hide the fear in her for these creatures. These creatures zoned into that fear, it seemed, and all directed their attention at her. Well, Ruby thought they did with those big yellow eyes and panic in her veins.

They were about to make a run for it, for safety, but the creatures seemed to figure out that was what they were going to do. So, just as team RWBY was about to make a break, one of the creatures snuck up and leaked at Ruby. The red head paralyzed and remained in place in fear of these dark creatures, hearing the voice of team call out to her.

"RUBY!"

Then everything turned dark.  
>-<p>

The forest and town were gone. The shadow-like creatures were gone. Her team were gone.

All of this disoriented Ruby, searching for familiar sights before her brain registered just exactly where she was. Darkness surrounded the circular platform she stood on. A bright light shone down from a high source, causing her to look up to search for it before looking straight down at her feet. She stood on a stained glass image of herself? It was an image of her, holding Crescent Rose in arc, and head haloed by team in small circles. In the background of the center picture was Beacon. Surrounding her main visage were circles filled with, instead pictures, the symbols her friends.

An odd and almost amazing work of art nearly made her miss the appearance of the shadow creatures from before.

"What-" she gasped, taking a step back as the creatures solidified once more in a 3-D form. They twitched and watched her; Ruby watched them back. Then one twitched more before lurching forward in attack that was similar like from the fight before. She jumped backwards to dodge and soon felt a heavy weight in her hand. Another creature leaped forward at her, and Ruby met the attack with a swing of her weight-laden arm. A slash, and then the creature was gone. The hand now in front of her held a strange weapon.

It was much, much smaller than her scythe, but it seemed quite similar to Crescent Rose in design. The four-foot long weapon was a mixture of red and black with a sharp curve at the top coming off at the top like her scythe. Flowing down from the top to the hilt were vines and blooming roses, and the hilt guard built with the mechanical parts as her precious weapon. A keychain hung down, a likeness to her own symbol she bore proudly.

Ruby stared at this interesting weapon before another attack at her from the corner of her eye. She swung the strange weapon, which slashed and took out the dark creature. It felt so natural, she thought to herself, as if an extension like Crescent Rose. Before another shadow creature could attack her, she attacked first. She launched forward, finding and tapping into her semblance to attack. The speed caught the creatures off-guard. Ruby then managed to take them all out.

Once the platform was cleared, stairs winding up soon appeared. The Huntress-in-training though on all of this before whether or not she would travel up those stairs. This place, the weapon, those creatures. It was almost like a dream -Ruby didn't know if it really was or wasn't- but all of this had hints of a nightmare.

But what would be the end of all of this?

Well, there was one way to find out.

Ruby looked up to the climbing staircase, before walking over and making her ascent upwards to an unknown. Nothing attacked her as she walked up the shinning stairs, still not putting her off-edge.

Once she made it to the next stained glass-topped platform, another strange sight greeted her. A teenage boy with wild and spiky hair and puffy shorts stood in almost wait for her there. She walked closer, on edge but curious. She stopped and waited, not wanting to make the first move or voice just yet.

Ruby noticed the noticed that the boy was looking at the weapon in her right hand. She glanced down too at the weapon that seemed to help her so much as Crescent Rose and a part of herself.

"Do you know what this is?" she finally asked, lifting it up to allow the streaming light to reflect off of it. Now the boy looked at her with a confused look and tilt of the head.

"You don't know?"

She shook her head, hoping that she would get an answer. There would be answers about this weapon, about those creatures, where she was, and how to get back to her team. There had to be answers. Would this mystery boy be the supplier?

A smile soon slipped onto his face, and hands soon reached up to rest behind his head as he replied, "It's a keyblade. It's a weapon to fight the heartless. Don't know how you got one but must be something important."

Keyblade? Heartless? Ruby's head spun with confusion. She began to piece together that the weapon was called a 'keyblade' and the monsters were called 'heartless.' But there still was the main question of why she had it, and why were those creatures in her dreams and waking hours?

"But where are my manners? I'm Sora." The boy now named 'Sora' held out his hand, grinning still. Ruby still felt suspicious of him, but none-the-less shook his hand back.

"Ruby. Could you tell me where I am and why, Sora? I don't-"

Sora dropped his hand and looked a bit saddened in hearing her ask those questions, which had caused her voice to stop talking. That didn't help the feeling settling inside of her.

"Well, where you are is a bit tricky. Even I never knew. But as to why, well you were chosen. An odd way, but chosen still."

"Chosen for what?"

He pointed at the 'keyblade' in her hand and answered her back, "Chosen to wield a keyblade, to fight heartless and the darkness, and possibly help your world."

"My world?"

Sora nodded his head. "Your world is one of many. Though it seems like it's in trouble now."

"Trouble from the heartless?"

"Yep. They aim to attack the light and worlds. Got to a few. But now your world has a good chance in not letting that happen." Ruby let that sink in but didn't quite understand the extent that Sora seemed to have.

"How do I get out of here then? My friends-" Her team had been attacked and could possibly be in terrible trouble. They didn't have this keyblade weapon to help. "I need to get back to them and help."

Sora nodded his head, soon moving to the side as a pair of white doors appeared out of thin air. Ruby gave a glance to Sora before walking towards them. The doors opened by an unknown command. A shine of white flowed out from the other side, and Ruby didn't know if that lead back to her sister and friends. But it seemed the only way back.

Just as she was about to walk in that light, she heard Sora say, "Just remember Ruby: light can defeat the darkness. The bonds in your heart can create the brightest of light."

Then everything was bright and white.  
>-<p>

When the light faded, she heard the yell of her name filter in first before the sounds of the heartless followed.

"Ruby!"

Ruby opened her eyes and adjusted them quickly to see the heartless still surrounding her team just as she had left. It seemed as though no time had passed from her leaving and coming back. Well, that was a good thing in all of this mess.

"What is that?" Weiss called out to the team leader, eyeing the keyblade in Ruby's hand. The same keyblade now had a purpose in this world. So, Ruby just grinned before rushing towards the uneven fight. Her new weapon found its marks and took out the heartless in short swoops and slashes. Her team stood and watched with eyes filled with slight confusion and amazement. It took the huntress-in-training no time to take out all the enemies, lowering her arm down and scanning the surroundings just to be safe. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning around to see Yang there with Weiss and Blake to either side of the blonde.

"Uh, Ruby, you wanna fill us in now?"

Ruby thought about that, before putting up a small sheepish grin on her face while replying back, "Yeah, sure. But we should tell the town that they are safe again." The look of 'What?' appeared on all three faces, wondering just what in the world was going on. They, however, agreed to that, following after Ruby.

As they headed into town, the strange weapon in her hand disappeared and Crescent Rose's portable state re-appeared in her hand. The switch was hardly noticeable, at least to the red head. Her friends were still wondering what was going on and asking questions. All of which Ruby either answered or didn't, depending on whether or not even she knew the answer.

"So, you're the only one that can fight those things?" Weiss asked, asking as though that was clearly impossible. Then again those things seemed extraordinary and impossible to exist in the first place.

"I think so, yeah," Ruby replied back, somewhat ignoring to mention the fact of the meeting with Sora and the implications that she might not just be the only one to fight heartless. There was still the fact that she was the only one here on her world that could at the moment. That weight and being a huntress probably wouldn't be easy to handle, but Ruby knew she had to try. Her hardest needed to be the best for the sake of everyone. She just wondered if she should tell anyone else besides her team or not. Explaining what happened here, since in telling the town word would get out more, wouldn't be simple thing to do. But she supposed the story must continue on.  
>-<p>

"King Mickey, do you think this is the best course of action to take? To wait?" That was the question asked once explanation had finished and questions mostly answered. It was a question for the end, and one that held the next move to be made for this world and a man who seemingly had to help make sure the peace remained.

"Mickey is just fine," answered his somewhat new 'ally', being gracious and rather lax for the moment, "and well I wouldn't call it waiting. We were alerted to the appearance of heartless but couldn't find any when we got here." This reiterated the restatement from the earlier briefing for him being there.

Ozpin hummed in thought, leaving the conversation to become silent for a moment before he asked, "Is it possible that a, 'keyblade wielder' as you call it, having come here to fight?" He didn't understand what exactly 'keybladers' were but equated it to hunters and left that analogy to be sound for now.

Mickey thought about that before giving his answer, "Well, my friends haven't reported coming here, and...no, it would seem like no one I know of has come here. So, that leaves another option." Well, another option that he saw to be that Ozpin might not have.

"And that would be?" prompted Ozpin to find out.

"A keyblader among your world's people. It is a rarity, but it can happen. Given with the sudden appearance of heartless, it may be the world's defense."

Ozpin took this new information and thought over it and what now meant, "Do you know who?" It would be important to find that person so that something more could be done next to help the world. But in a world this large, that would be hard if he didn't know where to start. He also ran this school, worrying about that as well.

Mickey shook his head. "No, I don't. But you might want to keep an eye out for them. They will be the one to help your world from the heartless and darkness."

"I see."

Another silence took hold while they stood on the balcony on top the highest tower at Beacon. The silence was slightly uneven between them both since they both were at odds in understanding each others' worlds. There was a newly established somewhat alliance, but that didn't help the differences between both man and mouse.

"Well, I must be off," Mickey began, turning away from the border of the balcony to head back into Ozpin's office and the portal back to his ship, "Unfortunately, not all worlds are at peace now. If anything arises more, contact us, and we'll help." He gave a kind smile to the other over his shoulder, getting a nodding recognition back.

"I keep remember that. Farwell, King Mickey."

"Goodbye, Professor Ozpin."

Mickey then left through the glowing portal that had appeared, and Ozpin turned back to stare down at the school below. People walked around almost like ants, wondering here and there. A few airships came and went. All of this helped calmed the man's mind for just a little bit, though he knew that there was going to have to be something done about the new threat. Heartless and the darkness, similar to the Grimm, can't take this world.

As with all stories, light was not going to be bested by the darkness.


End file.
